Council staff to get ‘living wage’

A report to Calderdale Council’s Governance and Business Committee has outlined plans to make the council an accredited ‘living wage’ employer.

The living wage is a level calculated which takes into account the basic cost of living in the UK and is currently set at £7.85 per hour compared to the national minimum wage of £6.50 per hour for over-21s.

Council leader Stephen Baines (Con, Northowram and Shelf) said the policy was put through by Labour, but it is one that he supports.

He said: “It affects a very small number of council employees because the majority are already paid above the living wage.

“On principle, when I ran my own company I always believed that when you paid people a decent wage you get much better results.”